Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) slides the puck between the legs of Arizona Coyotes goaltender Adin Hill (31) for a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) ORG XMIT: PNJ105

GLENDALE, Az. — The desert might not seem like the best place to go when you’re trying to escape a near-fatal drought, but the Edmonton Oilers found a way to quench their thirst in one Wednesday.

Make no mistake, the Oilers were in dire straits when they staggered into Arizona, badly dehydrated and hanging by a thread after six straight losses, vultures circling overhead and teams pulling away from them in the playoff chase.

There’s no guarantee that a seventh would have been the end of them, but there’s no guarantee it wouldn’t, either.

That’s how close they were.

But they found a way to grind out a 3-1 victory, their first since Dec. 14, on two goals from Connor McDavid and one from Leon Draisaitl to give themselves a little boost heading into the next three games of this Pacific Division road trip.

“Definitely nice,” said winger Zack Kassian, who played 20 minutes on the first line in the win. “We got down by one early but we regrouped. Our second period was the best of the night. We checked very well and it was a big win in a tough building.”

The Oilers were admittedly reeling in the first period, though. They were outshot 17-6 and down 1-0 after 20 minutes (with three of their six shots coming on a power play).

They looked rattled.

But Draisaitl settled things down in the second period with his sixth goal in the last five games, tying the score and allowing the Oilers to breathe a little.

Not long after that, Zack Kassian sent McDavid in alone for a nice deke and it was 2-1 Edmonton at the second intermission.

“It was a step in the right direction,” said Draisaitl. “We didn’t really have our legs in the first period but we got them under us and started playing the way we can.”

The Coyotes pushed hard in the third period but Mikko Koskinen kept them at bay long enough for McDavid to score the empty netter.

“We survived the first period and after that we took over the game,” said Koskinen. “A huge win for our group.”

This was a massive win.

“When you’re missing top players, you just go into survival mode and that’s what we’re doing,” said Hitchcock. “We’re in survival mode. We want to keep getting a little better every time.”

“They’re unbelievable players,” said Koskinen. “They’re creating chances shift after shift. We need them every game.”

BIG DEAL

At five-foot-10 and 170 pounds, Coyotes rookie Clayton Keller is part of a new wave of NHL players: Young, skilled, fast and not the least bit concerned about how big they are.

The Coyotes leading scorer saw the trend beginning years ago, finesse winning out over brute force, and stepped in at just the right time.

“The game keeps getting faster and more skilled,” said the 20-year-old centre. “It was motivating for me growing up to see guys like Patrick Kane and Danny Briere, it was special to watch them.

“And Johnny Gaudreau is an unbelievable player, so much fun to watch. He creates so many chances and is so smart out there, and he’s smaller than me, maybe, and I’m really small. It just shows how the game is changing.”

ON THE LIMP

While he’s been listed as very close for the last two games, Kris Russell missed his ninth game in a row with a groin injury. He took the morning skate on Wednesday but was scratched before he’d even left the ice … Chiasson looks ready but won’t be eligible to come off injured reserve until Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings … Kailer Yamamoto also missed his second of three games since being called up after taking a hard slash on the arm against San Jose.

This ‘n’ that: Defenceman Caleb Jones hit linesman Shandor Alphonso in the neck with a hard dump in. Alphonso left the game for the last few seconds of the first period but was back in the second … Kassian looked decent on the first line with McDavid. He skates well enough and was a first-round pick back in the day, so he does have some residual skill … With two goals and an assist, McDavid posted his fifth-straight multiple point game.

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